Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia is a fear which originates in the belief that the Biblical verse,
Revelation 13:18, indicates that the number
666 is linked to
Satan or the
Anti-Christ. Outside the Christian faith, the phobia has been further popularized as a
leitmotif in various
horror films.
Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobes avoid things related to the number 666, such as a building in which the number is prominently displayed. Rarer is trying to avoid the number as it relates to other numbers. For example, the fraction two-thirds has a repeating decimal of .666. (Note that in base 12, two-thirds is 0.8, and 0.666 is the fraction 6/11.) A severe hexakosioihexekontahexaphobic may avoid this as well as 5/3, 8/3, 11/3, etc. People with this phobia consider it bad luck to get 3 sixes in a hand of
poker, even though this is usually quite a good hand.
(From
Bits and Pieces)